SURPRISINGLY, it took a while, but the University of the Philippines is finally in the UAAP Season 88 win column.
The Fighting Maroons put an end to their struggles after routing still-scrambling University of the East, 92-75.
READ: Finally, Remogat breaks out of slump as UP breaks into win column
Noy Remogat, who struggled to find the end of the net in his first two outings for State U, punished his old alma mater with an efficient 21 points, 11 assists, seven rebounds, and two steals, all while swishing six triples off the bench.
But more notably, the maroon-and-green showed tighter chemistry this time around, highlighted by their season-best 21 assists and 39.4-percent shooting from the field.
In the eyes of head coach Goldwin Monteverde, it was about time each and every one of his wards locked in after conceding their first two games.
“Everybody committed dun sa mga adjustment namin. And winning for today’s game in this way, positibo kami dun,” he said.
With such an uncharacteristic start, the UP community was understandably on the verge of hitting the panic button, especially since their sights remain dead-set on their first-ever back-to-back titles.
But the Fighting Maroons, true to their mentor's wise words, leaned on each other through the tough times - and got tougher themselves.
As Monteverde explained, “Coming from two losses, siyempre ang nasa isip naming lahat is getting your first win, but without taking away the process of getting there.”
“Siyempre, 'di naman tayo pwedeng always hoping for things to happen. Dun lang kami nakatutok, sa mga prosesong dapat gawin para ma-build yung team namin.”
Hinding-hindi magpapahuli, ganyan kaming mga taga-UP
Of course, UP’s stumbling start wasn’t a product of coincidence.
Between University of Santo Tomas putting the claws on everyone it has faced so far and Adamson being ever-so-pesky no matter who it faces, parity in the UAAP is at a high that hasn’t been seen in a while.
Acknowledging this, Monteverde reiterated that anybody can beat anybody, and the reigning titlists can't rest on their laurels.
“Knowing na kahit sino naman ang mag-improve or lumakas, kailangan mo daanan lahat yan para ma-achieve yung goal mo,” he said.
“But then ang maganda naman dito is lahat kami, we took responsibility for it, and at the same time, pinag-usapan namin what needs to be worked on.”
And now that the Fighting Maroons have relearned they're stronger and better together, Monteverde and Co. are all-in on keeping it up.
“It's understanding that we need each other to achieve something big. And I felt like today, we moved the ball better. So, we'll just continue growing,” he said.
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